Hazelnut Brownie Cupcakes with Hazelnut Buttercream

A hybrid brownie/cupcake with chopped Diamond hazelnuts throughout is topped with a luscious chocolate hazelnut buttercream.

This post has been sponsored by Diamond Nuts.

I often have food cravings. It’s an occupational hazard when you deal with food all day long. But even though I get cravings, they aren’t usually the “I need this right this very minute or I will go crazy” kind of cravings.

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But the other day, I wanted brownies. I really wanted brownies.

But I felt like baking, and well – with brownies, it’s just stir and dump and bake. I wanted something more than that.

Enter brownie cupcakes. Ok, so these aren’t a whole lot more than stir and dump and bake, but at least you get to pipe on some pretty frosting.
These are a hybrid of a cupcake and a brownie, so you get the best of both worlds. They are denser than cupcakes, but not quite as dense as a brownie. It’s the perfect compromise for when you can’t decide between cupcakes and brownies. Fold in some Diamond hazelnuts for a little bit of crunch, and it’s a little bit of chocolate bliss.

One thing is for sure, though. This buttercream – WOW. This recipe makes enough for you to pipe a generous amount on each cupcake, plus enough to squeeze some directly into your mouth. Not that I would know, or anything…

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

In a microwave safe bowl (or in a small saucepan over medium heat), melt the chocolate chips and butter together.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Stir in the chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Fold in the flour and then the hazelnuts.

Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Bake in the preheated oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the buttercream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and hazelnut spread together until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and continue to beat until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add milk as needed to thin out the buttercream to reach your desired consistency.

Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes and top with chopped hazelnuts.

I am in a working relationship with Diamond Nuts, and this post has been sponsored. I’m so glad to be able to work with companies and organizations that I truly believe in. Thank you for supporting them, too.

Oh my gosh-so good! We just made some brownie cupcakes at my cooking class the other night and I’m going to tweak the recipe for St. Patty’s Day…just a tad. Can’t wait! Love me a chocolate brownie cupcake!

Brownies are probably the only chocolate dessert I’m absolutely in love with. There’s something about that fudgy texture that really gets me. Now combine that with a cupcake and I think I’m in love. Also, I’m definitely going to be piping some of that frosting directly into my mouth!

Made these and they turned out amazing!!! The only adjustment I made was I halved the amount of icing sugar called for in the icing, the chocolate hazelnut spread (I used Nutella) had enough sugar as it was and I didn’t want it to become too sweet.

Hi Lisa, I used all-purpose flour. I believe that your temperature should be somewhere between 160-170. And yes, I believe you call it icing sugar. This buttercream should be very easy to pipe. Hope you get a chance to try them!